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Housing crisis in the metro area is expanding as demand outpaces growth

Posted at 6:21 PM, Feb 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-16 19:21:34-05

DENVER -- Denver needs 27,000 more housing units just to catch up with current demand.

That’s the number Denver Housing Authority executive director Ismael Guerrero gave Anne Trujillo during this week’s Politics Unplugged, but he says that number is going to keep growing.

“I don’t really don’t think there is one magic number out there that if we could build this many units we would solve the problem,” Guerrero said.

One of the biggest areas of need is in affordable housing.

“Certainly over the last several years, the idea and how we talk about affordable housing has really expanded,” Guerrero added.  “It could be anything from a senior on fixed income who needs a one-bedroom apartment at $500 a month to a first time homeowner who is looking for their first home ownership opportunity at under $300 a month.  It seems like as the housing market has gotten tighter, more and more people are talking about their own need for affordable housing.”

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Politics Unplugged airs Sundays at 4 p.m. on Denver7.

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